Who is Michael Paul?
Techie | Father | Husband
Personal Interests: Snowboarding, Photography, Gaming
Disclaimer: All views expressed on this blog are the personal opinions of the author exclusively and have no relation to any employer, past or present.
I’m a data protection consultant that has been fortunate to work at many great places in many great roles and as a result I wear many hats. My data protection focus is primarily Veeam, with experience of other solutions such as Rubrik, Azure Backup, and Microsoft DPM. With strong experience in infrastructure (VMware vSphere & Azure) , identity (Active Directory & Entra ID) and Microsoft 365 solutions. Also experienced in VDI (VMware Horizon), Unified Communications (Audiocodes, Skype for Business, and Microsoft Teams), VMware vSAN and Microsoft SQL.
Accreditations
Most of my vendor accreditations are available via Credly.
Industry Recognition
Community Contributions
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Veeam Legends Backup & Replication Pocketbook – Version 1
Co-Author & Editor. Link
Veeam Whitepaper: Windows and Physical Servers Backup – Configurations and Best Practices
Quote contribution. Link
Veeam Blog
Guest Author. Link
Veeam User Group – Cloud City (2023 – 2024)
Co-Lead of a thematic user group focused on Public Cloud and SaaS products protected by Veeam products. Link
Veeam User Group – UK (2023 – 2024)
Co-Lead of the official Veeam User Group for the United Kingdom. Link
Public Speaking Engagements Timeline
2025
Tuesday 2nd December – Speaker, ESPC25
“Next-Gen Microsoft 365 Data Resilience, Security & AI”, co-presented with my colleague Karinne Bessette.
Wednesday 19th November – Speaker, VeeamON Global Launch
“The Complete M365 Defense: Identity Hardening, Data Backup and Rapid Recovery”, co-presented with my colleagues Karinne Bessette & Ryan Alfred.
2024
Thursday 5th December – Speaker, ESPC24
“Future of Microsoft 365 Data Protection”, co-presented with my colleagues Edward Watson & Karinne Bessette.
Tuesday 26th November – Speaker, Veeam Data Cloud Roadshow
Presentation on Microsoft Backup Storage, and how Veeam adds value within Veeam Data Cloud, I also provided a live demo.
Wednesday 17th July – Virtual Host & Co-Ordinator, UK Veeam User Group
Recording available here.
Wednesday 17th April – Interview
Meet the Architect #1. Link
Wednesday 17th April – Virtual Speaker & Co-Ordinator, UK Veeam User Group
“When Direct to Object Storage isn’t so Direct” Link.
Thursday 4th April – Virtual Speaker, Veeam 100 Show
“Data Fortification: A Deep Dive into Backup Scanning Techniques using Veeam and PowerShell”. Link
2023
Wednesday 13th / Thursday 14th September – Virtual Delegate, Tech Field Day
Storage Field Day 26 – Full Playlist
Tuesday 23rd / Wednesday 24th May – Virtual Speaker, VeeamON
“What I Wish You Knew About SureBackup” – Link
Tuesday 9th May – Virtual Speaker, Cloud City Veeam User Group Event
Introduction to Cloud City Veeam User Group, Session: “Backup Copies vs Geo-Redundant Storage: An Exploration” – Link
Wednesday 5th April – Speaker, Veeam UK – London Event
“A Day in the Life of a Data Protection Consultant” Link
Thursday 16th March – Speaker, UK Veeam User Group Event
“Diving into SureBackup” – Link
2022
November 2022 – Business Insider Interview
Interview on the state of vendor certifications. Link (Paywall)
Tuesday 15th March (AMEA), Wednesday 16th March (APAC) – Virtual – Veeam Webinar
“Azure SQL Data Migration and Protection” – With Kirill Zverev. Link
Friday 21st January – Virtual – Veeam’s Friday Tech Bites
“Data Protection Best Practices – Backup Encryption” – With Rick Vanover. Link
2021
Friday 27th August – Virtual – Veeam’s Friday Tech Bites
“Veeam Legends: The First 6 Months” – With Ksenia Zvereva & Rick Vanover. Link
Wednesday 26th May – Virtual – VeeamON
“Hold My Beer While I Recover to the Cloud” – With Rick “Rickatron” Vanover. Link
Wednesday 17th March – Virtual – Veeam v11 CrowdChat
Veeam v11 CrowdChat – With Michael Cade, Jorge de la Cruz, Chan Ekanayake, Dan Middleton, Paul Stringfellow, Wolfgang Taitl & Dean Lewis. Link
2019
Thursday 7th November – Exeter – Nexus Open Systems / Cyber Security Associates @ Kaleider Studios
Delivering a Meaningful Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Experience – Speaker. Link to press release.
2017
Thursday 26th January – Virtual – Infosecurity Magazine
Beyond Prevention – How a Cyber Resilient State can Provide a Ransomware Defense – Co-Speaker. Link
Michael Paul | @micoolpaul 